Frequently Asked QuestionsThis thread contains answers to some commonly (and a few not so commonly) asked questions or issues people have with DraStic. If you would like to submit a new FAQ Q&A feel free to message it to me and I'll add it to this list with your name credited.

Q: DraStic suddenly closes while I'm using it, how do I fix this?A: Please refer to this thread for troubleshooting tips in avoiding common crashes.

Q: Does DraStic support multiplayer/wifi?A: Wifi emulation is very complex and not something we have plans to implement at the moment. Sorry, but the "wifi" button in the app is just there to let you know this, it doesn't mean we've started working on it.

In short, there are some things you can try to make this go away, and sometimes it just goes away on its own later.

Q: I'm getting save corruption errors in Pokemon games, is there a way to fix or at least prevent this?A: The later DS Pokemon games are very finicky with saves and can think your saves are corrupted if it sees a save that appears to be in the future, and possibly other circumstances. It's not totally known how this can happen but for best results you should try not to make savestates except strictly in-between making in-game saves, and even then that may not be a good idea. You should also try not to change the game time after the game starts.

Q: Hey! Game X doesn't work! (And maybe it even worked before!) Fix it!A: Before reporting that a game doesn't work make sure that you're using the latest version. Load the app listing in the play store and confirm that the version it says is the same as the version that's displayed on the menu screen. New versions often fix bugs. In unusual cases a game could even have been working but stopped working due to the date (versions before 2.1.6.2a had this problem). And if you're using a version you didn't pay for that isn't the demo, please don't bother us with questions. They're broken on purpose.

Q: Okay, I've confirmed this game really doesn't work on the latest version I paid for, what should I do?A: Report the bug on these forums. Please keep it public instead of PMing or e-mailing us privately so that other users can help you or be helped if there's a solution to your problem. When you report a bug it's helpful if you can provide a save state and directions for how to reproduce the problem. Also include what device and what OS version you're using. If you have cheats enabled, try to turn them off so you can determine if they're related to the bug.

Q: Does DraStic support 3DS/2DS games? Will it in the future?A: No, it does not and never will. 3DS is an entirely different system, a full generation ahead, like N64 to Gamecube. And yes this means 2DS won't work either, it's the same thing as 3DS but with a different screen.

Q: Help, a game was working in the emulator before but I updated to a newer version and now it doesn't!A: Unfortunately, sometimes when we fix some issue in the emulator we accidentally break something else (since DS has thousands of games it gets complex). If you report the problem then hopefully we can correct it ASAP. We may also be able to give you an older verison of the emulator so you can go back to using it.

Q: What is your refund policy?A: We used to offer refunds to almost everyone within 48 hours, but now that there's no BIOS requirement and Google has extended their automatic refund policy we feel this is unnecessary. We will still offer refunds if we feel that the case is warranted - if you believe you're entitled to a refund send us an e-mail and explain why. Please understand that refunded installations can still be played, so we're a little reluctant to give out refunds for no reason.

Q: Pressing start isn't bringing up the menu in Pokemon games. This is the emulator's fault, you need to fix it, and I hate you.A: Actually, by default start never did anything in the games, although there's an option to change the controls to do this. To bring up the menu you're supposed to press X. Blame Nintendo.

Q: My Pokemon worked before October 2013 but now it doesn't!!!A: Make sure you're using version 2.1.6.2a or higher. Don't bother of us if you didn't pay for it.

Q: What are the minimum/recommended requirements to run DraStic?A: You need an Android device with the following specifications:CPU: An ARMv7a processor and NEON support is preferred. This includes any Cortex-A7, Cortex-A8, Cortex-A9, Cortex-A15, Scorpion, or Krait processors. Cortex-A5 processors will work but will often be slow. ARM11, and MIPS processors are not compatible. Tegra 2 and Intel Atom are also supported, but will use a less optimized code path than the ARM/NEON version, so they're slower.RAM: At least 256MB on the device. Ideally over 128MB free.Display: At least 320x480 is recommended (higher is better)OS: Android Gingerbread version 2.3.3 or higher

Q: Does DraStic need BIOS files?Not as of version 2.1.1a, which uses a custom BIOS. But you can still install them (to /sdcard/drastic/system) if you want and they'll be used. Note that in the system directory you can also find a zip containing information (and source code) for our custom BIOS. A Nintendo ARM7 BIOS is still necessary for loading encrypted ROMs. Please let us know if you have any problems with the custom BIOS so we can fix it.

If you use official DS BIOS files, they must have the following file names:nds_bios_arm9.binnds_bios_arm7.bin

Q: How do I get the Nintendo BIOS files? Can you give them to me?A: The Nintendo DS BIOS files are copyrighted code and therefore can't be freely distributed. It's recommended that you obtain them from a real Nintendo DS using a flashcart and the utility that can be found at the following URL:

Q: There was a bug that a version update says was fixed, but it's still happening for me. What could the problem be?A: It's possible that we didn't fix a bug completely even though we thought we did, but one thing you should always try is playing to the same point without loading a save state made with the older versions. Sometimes a bug will have tainted the save state and can't be corrected anymore.

Q: Can I change the position and size of the onscreen controls?A: Yes, you can now change both the size and position of controls. See this guide for information how: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=418

Q: Why do cheats still happen after I've disabled them? Is this a bug?A: Cheats work by modifying the game as it's running. If you a disable a cheat it'll stop being executed, but for many cheats whatever it did to modify the game will already be in effect. It's impossible for the emulator to reverse this, such a thing goes against the basics of how the cheats work (note that the cheats come from Action Replay codes, not something we invented). The best thing to do is to make a save in-game and reset with the cheats disabled, that should remove the cheat so long as it didn't affect something that's part of a save. Doing this with a savestate won't work, it has to be an in-game save.

Q: When is the next version coming out?A: Sorry, but we usually don't do release dates (sometimes we don't really know when something will be "ready" enough until enough testing is done). Please be patient. In the mean time you might want to see if there's a beta available: http://www.drastic-ds.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=828

Q: How fast should I expect DraStic to be?A: It varies greatly depending on the game you're trying to run. A device with 1GHz Cortex-A8 will run many games with a fair amount of frameskip. A 1.4+GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 will run most games with little or no frameskip most of the time.

Q: What should I do to report a bug?A: Report it on these forums. Please keep it public instead of PMing or e-mailing us privately so that other users can help you or be helped if there's a solution to your problem. When you report a bug it's helpful if you can provide a save state and directions for how to reproduce the problem.

Q: Does it help to have multiple CPU cores?A: Yes. If you have multiple cores DraStic is sped up by being able to offload screen update tasks to another thread. If you select the multi-threaded renderer option you will get even more benefit, but this option can cause graphical glitches and instability.

Q: Game X worked before, but now it always crashes or freezes when i load it?A: Some cheats might cause this. Disable cheats globally in the options and then try to start the game again. Afterwards you can disable the problematic cheats in the cheat menu, and enable them in the options again. Please report to us the game and the exact name of the cheat, so we can fix it.

Q: Can I transfer savegames between DraStic and other emulators or a flash cart?A: Yes (note that this only applies to in-game saves, not savestates), although they may not work 100% of the time.

To import savefiles into DraStic, place then in the following location:

/sdcard/DraStic/backup

And make sure that the file is named the same as the game ROM's filename, but with the extension ".dsv" instead of ".nds", ".zip", ".rar" or ".7z".

Save files can be transferred from DraStic by copying the file from /sdcard/DraStic/backup to the location where the emulator or flash cart keeps save files.

Q: Are MOGA controllers supported?A: Yes. 'Native' support for MOGA controllers was added in version 2.2.0.0a. You don't need to map the buttons like with other controllers, they will be automatically assigned. You can see the mapping in Options > External Controller > Show MOGA Button Mapping.

Q: Does DraStic use my GPU to render graphics? Does it help to have a faster GPUA: The GPU is only used to scale the image and apply filters so having a better one won't make much difference. OpenGL ES is not used to render the Nintendo DS graphics. This is because of idiosynchracies in the DS graphics hardware that would make this style of emulation incomplete and/or slow.

Q: Does DraStic support homebrew games?A: Yes, but if the game needs a DLDI image then it has to be created separately, via a process such as listed here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2082&hilit=dldi

Q: Where's the source code?A: DraStic is closed source for the foreseeable future. It's written entirely by us and therefore not violating any licenses.

Q: Is there going to be an iOS port?A: It's up in the air right now. If it comes out it will require a jailbroken device.

Q: Is there going to be a free lite or ad-supported version? What about a demo?A: There's no longer a demo available. We feel that with Google's more relaxed automatic refund window that it's not necessary anymore.

Q: What are the games shown on the Google Play description?

Thee homebrew (non-commercial) games. From left to right: Detective DS, Anguna, and Bob's Game demo.